A Shadow On Us All
by Zoey Overbeck
Summary: With Aelita under his control, XANA plots to use a warrior against them once again, but in a different way. A new war of XANA against the world has begun.
1. The Beginning

Chapter 1- Prologue

'WHOOSH!' An almost silent strike sounded through the air as a blade cut through it. The bearer narrowed her eyes in intent, and slashed at the air again. The wind sounded as the blade cut through the space, as if the air was trying to get away from the blade as fast as it could before it got hit. She smiled in satisfaction, and tested out the other blade. Hearing the whoosh again, Aelita smiled and attached the two blades at the hilt, forming an energy bow.

Pulling an energy string that connected the bow, she aimed, and fired at a tree in the forest region in Lyoko. An arrow, made of the stuff of dreams, hurtled through the air, and landed dead center in the tree, a soft 'whump' echoing through the region. On one wrist, there was a pink and purple star bracelet, a relic of her past life. On the other wrist, there was a black charm, a gift to her by XANA.

Aelita smiled in gratitude, seemingly at nothing and nobody. She was thinking of her master, XANA, who had picked her out from all of them, to be the strongest warrior he had ever had. The Lyoko warriors were not going to be a nuisance to him anymore, very, very soon. Aelita grinned evilly, and stowed her bow back in the bow carrying sack that was on her back. Lightly touching the black charm on her left wrist, she lightly glowed red before disappearing from Lyoko.

--Meanwhile--

Gasping, the man clawed his way to his feet, and he slowly made his way to the elevator that was positioned on the other side of the room. Summoning some of his remaining strength, he punched the top button- one of the only two buttons on the control panel. With a clanging noise, the elevator door slowly slid to the bottom, and the elevator sluggishly made it's way up, after years of disuse. Finally, the door opened again to reveal the computer Lab. Seeing a chair positioned near the supercomputer, he painfully made his way there, and collapsing on it.


	2. Conversations

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Lyoko or anything related to it, except for the story itself. Code Lyoko belongs to Moonscoop only! Yes, I forgot to do the disclaimer last chapter, but I think this will suffice for the rest of the story. If I tell you once, I think it's enough rather than typing it mindlessly and wasting time. Also, I think I forgot the year in the other one, it's 2020.

--

Chapter 2

-Saturday, June 6, 2020-

One sleepy eye opened slowly, then another, closing again in pain when the sunlight hit them. Yawning, the brown haired male looked over to his wife, smiling slightly when he saw that her nightmares had stopped. Slowly getting out of bed, Ulrich went downstairs, careful not to trip on Odd, who was staying with them for the time being with his wife, Sissi on the main floor.

They had recently gotten their home foreclosed due to the economy, and they had been staying with them until they find new ones and get their life in order within a set few months. So far, the 8 interviewers had not returned their calls, and so, they were forced to stay for a longer time. Ulrich often wondered how to help them. They often had refused their help, but now, they needed it now more than ever.

Ulrich had half a mind to call the Belpois', to see how they were doing during these times. Ulrich decided against it, as they were probably still asleep. He looked over to the clock, which read "June 6th, 7:30 AM". June 6… that stirred a memory shoved far away in the back of his mind. He had almost forgotten. It was about 25 years since Aelita was virtualized.

Smiling slightly, he recalled the day when he had first met her after following a slightly shocked Jeremie. He could remember the first XANA attack he had witnessed, and at first it was puzzling, but he soon understood what all this "Lyoko" Stuff meant.

"Well Belpois, you said you wanted some juice" he said, sarcastically, almost forgetting that he, Jeremie, probably didn't have a sense of humor.

"Very funny, Stern" Jeremie replied back, with a half smile, which shocked him. So, he did have a sense of humor after all!

Ulrich smiled again, and started raiding the refrigerator, groaning when the discovery was made that Odd had picked off all the good food for a late night snack, unable to resist the temptation of having a practically free food fest nearby. Quietly pushing the refrigerator door back into place, he moved toward the gym to get a little exercise in before going off to replace the food Odd ate.

--

The first thing Jeremie saw when he merely rolled over to go in a better position for relaxation was a large mass of pink hair. He assumed it was Aelita, but when he focused his eyes, it was Antea, who had come to sleep in her parents' bedroom after Waldo had annoyed her by coming into her room and poking her shoulder until she work up- at 5 in the morning. Jeremie stared at her for a while, before slightly hugging her and going back to sleep again. When he woke up again, he noticed that Antea was gone. Judging by the barks coming from downstairs, Antea had gone to play with them. His thoughts were proved correct as Antea went back in their room, holding the pups, before putting them on Jeremie's lap.

Jeremie yawned before holding Patrick in his hand. It was funny though, the pup almost looked exactly like his (Jeremie's) brother, but was in fact, a puppy that some might call "evil minded". Jeremie could not blame him, they had found him one day while walking in the forest, after being startled by its sudden appearance. Some hunter had killed his parents and his siblings, so they took him in. At first, Patrick did not cooperate at all, but he eventually warmed up to them, after a few days. Jeremie had named him after his older brother because he had a cool sense around him under fire, and he always had a plan up his sleeve… so to speak.

Jeremie rolled over and stared outside the window, staring at the sunlight-tinted sky. It was going to be a long day, as a friend reunion was planned for later in the day. It was certainly not going to be boring, knowing Odd's love for being mischievous. Aelita had even gone so far as to begin calling him Loki, the Norse God of mischief.

Jeremie groaned, and slowly got out of bed, careful not to disturb the resting pups. Antea grinned for no apparent reason before running back to her room, her footsteps thudding lightly on the floor. Just as Jeremie reached the door leading to the hall, there was a deafening noise as an air-horn blew.

A roar of fury echoed throughout the hall as Waldo woke up to Antea's revenge. Heavy thudding echoing from the hall meant that he had taken up to chasing her. Antea giggled as she blew the air-horn again, stopping him dead in his tracks.

Jeremie let out a full-sized grin as Antea ran around in random circles, pushing the button that emitted the ear-splitting noise.

THUMP!

Jeremie looked behind him as a familiar pink-haired person fell out of the bed in surprise, from the constant honking.

Jeremie laughed, trying to catch his breath as she gave him a dirty look. Jeremie opened his eyes, tears of laugher threatening to come out, and saw, for a moment, the distorted bulls-eye mark in her pupils. However, when he closed and opened his eyes again, her pupils were back to normal as she was picking herself off the floor.

(Fake) Aelita then grinned good naturedly as she playfully shoved him onto the floor. Jeremie scowled, and was about to shove back as his cell-phone on the bedside table vibrated loudly.

Jeremie walked over and picked it up, nervously saying a 'hello' to the person, the caller ID on the display pronouncing the words 'Caller Unknown'. Jeremie scratched the back of his head, hearing heavy breathing from the other end, instead of words.

Jeremie was about to end the conversation, when a faintly familiar voice from the other side said 'wait'. Jeremie, unsure of what to do, held the phone loosely in his hand, sitting on the bed for support.

'Alright' the voice on the other side of the line said finally, after a few minutes of more heavy breathing. 'Is she with you?' the voice asked, still gasping heavily now and then.

'I do not understand what you are talking about, sir' Jeremie said, unsure.

'I meant Aelita. Is she in the room' the voice questioned from the other side of the line.

Now, Jeremie was getting pretty freaked out. Who wouldn't, if a person you did not really know suddenly called out and knew the names of your family members, and asked if they were in the room or not.

'I do not mean any harm, I just want to know' the voice said, after the lengthy silence Jeremie had provided.

'I think you should probably mind your own business' Jeremie said as he reached for the red button on the phone, with the illuminated picture of a phone in its regular position.

'Wait!' the voice yelled, nearly deafening Jeremie. 'I need to explain that she is not really Aelita!'

Jeremie was getting curious. If what this mysterious person said was true, then what he saw earlier was not false.

'Go on,' Jeremie said, keeping a watch on (fake) Aelita as she stroked Catherine's head, watching him carefully in the corner of her eye. 'I'm listening, sir.'

'Good' the voice replied. 'Listen, XANA is not dead. He was able to escape complete destruction by altering his code a little, saving him from complete destruction.'

'Continue, sir. Er… what did you say about that offer? $29.99 for the newest upgrade for Microsoft Office? Yes… okay… when will it ship?' Jeremie ad-libbed, hoping to ease suspicion from the, hopefully real, Aelita.

'What? I'm not selling Microsoft products? Have you seen how many time they annoyingly crash?' the voice sounded, obviously annoyed.

'_Just _one more thing. Can it _go with_ a special packaging, so that the trip cannot damage _it_?' Jeremie said, occasionally stressing words.

'Well, sir,' the voice said, in a grand fashion so it was easily to discern his voice from across the room 'they usually ship in five days, depending on where you live, and they do come with the special programming'.

Jeremie looked over to (fake) Aelita, where she was continuing to watch him. Jeremie mouthed 'salesman' over to her. Aelita, buying the lie, nodded and left the room, her soft footsteps coming down the stairs. Once Jeremie made sure that she was truly downstairs, even sneaking a peek around the hall, he continued the conversation with him and the mysterious voice.

'Jeremie, you have got to listen to me' The voice now said, his vocals dropping to a mere whisper. 'Check the superscan when she is not here. You will figure out what I mean. I have to go now, I am probably going to be traced by her.'

'Wait!' Jeremie fiercely whispered back to the voice. 'I need to know more!'

The voice paused for a moment, as if considering something.

'You remember the way to the old Renault factory, correct?'

'Yes, I do. I still can't believe it's still there' Jeremie replied, knowing where this was going.

'Don't go there. She will look for you there as soon as she comes home.' The voice commanded, rising to a loud whisper.

Jeremie was taken aback. Of course, there were more advanced GPS units everywhere in the country, and XANA could easily pick out people's locations, unless they were not tagged with them. Jeremie was unsure if he was tagged or not, but he decided that yes, he was, in order to be safe.

'Where do you usually go on Saturday?' the voice asked.

'I usually go to the speedy mart, in downtown Boulogne-Billancourt. It is near the Seine River, but about a mile or two away.'

'The one on fifty-fourth street?' the voice questioned.

'Yes, that's the one' Jeremie confirmed, eyes gazing to the door to see if Aelita had come back. She did not.

'Good. Meet me later today, in three hours. Pretend you are going on your usual grocery shopping. I also need you to buy some of the groceries you normally get, so alleviate suspicion. I will be waiting near the entrance. I trust that you know me by my appearance. After all, it has not changed in the years I have been gone.' The voice confirmed.

'Goodbye sir, and thank you for the parts.'

'Goodbye, Mister Belpois. I trust that you will find my daughter soon enough.' The voice responded, ending the call with a faint, but distinct click.

Jeremie lay back on the bed, resting his head on the pillow. 'Yes, Mister Schaeffer, we will meet soon' he murmured to himself, closing his eyes, and drowsing in the warm sunlight.

--

Well, this had ended my writers block, so I decided to have a talk with Jer and Waldo. Now, XANA is pretty confused, and he thinks Waldo is still alive, so he's playing the "Where's Waldo" game, unknowingly. Well, anyone have any ideas on my other stories? I'm pretty much run down… and tired. *Yawns*


	3. She's alive?

AN: It's not the problem of writer's block, it's the problem of the sequencing of events, I guess. Things get a little violent here. Not gory though- otherwise I would have to move the rating up.

--

ASOUA- Chapter III

A loud roar of pure rage echoed through the building as crashes and the slamming of various heavy objects resounded, accompanying the roar of fury. An older woman, driven nearly to the point of insanity, leapt through the hole she had made in the wall a few seconds ago, landing heavily on her feet. Growling at the people that filed around her as they leveled their stunners at her figure, she immediately jumped on the desk, and brandished the nearest thing that could be used as a weapon, which happened to be a golden letter opener in the shape of a small sword.

"Now… hold on here lady…" one of the younger men who was holding a stunner said, his hands shaking at the sight of her behavior. "You d…don't want to have to go down like the last t…time!" he said as he adjusted the setting on the stunner to "stun".

The woman just hissed and tightened her grip on the letter opener. Even though it was not sharp enough to her liking, the right amount of force could make up for that aspect, or loss of it. Breathing heavily through her mouth, which was curved downwards while baring her teeth, the woman quickly took in her surroundings and balanced the ratios and the possibilities of getting out of this forsaken building that was her "new" home. There was a laptop computer, a sandwich lying on the desk from the person that worked in the area, an open file cabinet stuffed with various papers on subjects, a paperweight, a large canvas bag, a small roll of tape, a lighter from the office space's occupant because he smoked, large bottles of hand sanitizers, and a can of bug spray nearby. The odds of getting out turned out to be good, and getting better as she looked around her even more, her eyes rapidly darting as she processed the information quickly.

She grinned, and sat down on the desk, her eyes never leaving the uniformed men. While the men holding the stunners were bemused on her sudden change of behavior, her hand slowly sneaked over to the glass paperweight that was lying nearby. Feeling the cold glass of the paperweight, she smirked, and before they could react, threw it at the closest agent, hitting him directly in the forehead. The room immediately went into a frenzy, as most of them rushed to help their fallen comrade, who was now bleeding profusely.

The woman quickly ducked behind the desk, hastily grabbing the few items on the desk excluding the sandwich, and shoved them in the canvas bag. She rifled around until she found the bug spray, the tape, and the lighter on the desk. Snatching it off before any of the men could grab it, she pulled off a large piece of tape from the roll, shredding the duct tape after the desired length was pulled off the roll with the letter opener, and hastily taping the lighter to the bug spray's nozzle. She quickly put the tape into the bag- she would probably have to use it later.

"Aye!" one of them shouted as they started to approach the desk, now bearing the 9mm handguns they kept in their suits.

The woman frowned at their quick approach, and flicked the cap off the lighter, and clicked the metal tab. Immediately, a flame appeared, and the woman smiled, popped from behind the desk, and surprised the suited men with a quick spurt of fire, with the pressing of the spray's nozzle. The men shouted, and started running to the exit, furiously jabbing the button for assistance, some of them firing madly in all directions. Fortunately for her, none of the shots contacted with her body.

The woman, knowing her time here was going to a close, took the folders and papers from the file cabinet, and flung all of the papers stored there all over the place. She grabbed the canvas bag, and after finding two more lighters and cleaning sprays and shoving them in the bag, turned the home-made flamethrower towards the papers, and set them on fire. The flames licked at the paper, burning them with fiery intensity- the sprinklers were not activated yet. The men though, were terrified, and they immediately fled from the rooms, the only thing on their minds was staying alive.

The female's eyes widened as the flames were coming to her direction. She closed the cap on the lighter, extinguishing the flame there, and tossed it into the canvas bag. Looking up and seeing the ventilation shaft, she quickly stood on the desk, and using the letter opener again, managed to open the duct. She got down from the desk, and piled anything she could use as leverage onto the desk, sweating profusely as she did so. Finally, when she thought it was enough, the lady stepped onto the desk, climbed up the leverage she had made, and climbed into the ventilation shaft with the bag of items safely with her. She could feel the heat rising as she slowly made her way through the shaft, though as she progressed, it got considerably cooler as she moved farther away from the heat source. By now, the sprinklers would have activated to help control the flames, but she was already gone from the location.

She stopped as she saw a small, almost discreet, security camera that was facing the direction away from her. Not wanting to risk anything, she found the camera's moving mechanism and removed it, letting the camera keep feeding video to avoid suspicion, with her obviously moving away to not get caught. She found the vent increasingly harder to maneuver though with her bag, so she took out the hand sanitizer, and used the gel within the bottle to lubricate the vent and allow her access.

Finally, after moments of desperately finding a way to escape and listening to the agents below yell that she had escaped, she found a vent that lead outside, toning down her claustrophobic fears. She kicked the vent out with a well-aimed front stomp, and landed on the hilly elevation outside, the impact not amounting to much due to the lack of space to fall through. The woman smirked as she pulled the bag out. She looked at her bag of items, and assessed the amount of items left that was still usable. 'A half of a gigantic bottle of hand sanitizer wouldn't do much while being in the wild', she thought as she pulled it out. 'I better make it useful now.'

Seeing that the building's supply chamber was basically in front of her, she grinned as she pulled out a lighter and lit the gel on fire. She tossed it at the supply room's window, the glass shattering under the force and impact of the bottle. The fire rapidly spread in the closet, consuming the chemicals in the room, as well licking at a few metal pipes. Smiling at her revenge, the woman picked up the bag and left into the heavily treed forest, not looking back even as an explosion heralded that the raging fire melted the metal casing of the pipe, and reacted with the gas line. She brushed her wild hair out of her dark green eyes, and smiled, feeling her hair freely move in the wind like it had done decades ago. Her hair whipped around her waist, and she stopped, remembering the ones she had lost long ago. No matter… taking revenge after finally being able to escape the numerous amounts of restraints they had put on her, as well as the indignities she and others had faced would settle the score. She smiled as another explosion occurred, she knew that the building was being burned to the ground as the flames danced.

"Nobody would be able to save you now…" she whispered to nobody in particular, even though it was directed to them, the Men in Black who had ruined her life, as well as her husband and her child's life. Antea Schaeffer, formerly Antea Hopper, now sought revenge on those who had condemned her to this life of suffering and torture. "This is just the beginning…" she whispered as her emerald eyes flashed malevolently under the mane of her now wild-looking pink hair.

--

Waldo sighed as Jeremie kept on asking him questions, mostly the questions that showed that he still did not believe him.

"Look, if you doubt me, you can call her and tell her you're going to be late." Waldo said exasperatedly.

"Why would I do that, if she is _supposedly _sent by XANA?" Jeremie asked.

"I rented out a hotel room earlier just in case you did not believe me. Tell her you're going to be a little late, because you ran into your friends again." Waldo said, nodding at him. "Go on, you still have her number, remember?"

Jeremie, defeated, sighed and activated his phone, dialing in '(33) 655-321-258' and waiting for the dial tone to cease, where her answering machine or she herself would answer. The phone rang a few times before somebody picked up on the landline.

"Wellow?" said a young girl's voice, which Jeremie recognized as Antea's.

"Hi, cupcake! Hey, can I speak with mommy?" Jeremie inquired, sending a scathing look at his father-in-law when he snorted at what Jeremie called his granddaughter.

"MOMMY!" Jeremie heard her yell, putting the phone on the table. Soon after he heard the phone make a clicking sound as a person picked up the phone.  
"Hello?" he heard an older female voice say, one that Jeremie recognized.

"Hey, 'lita" Jeremie said, using the nickname he called her. "Listen, I ran into Ulrich, and I'm going to have to drive him to Northern France. His car broke down moments ago."

"Alright then" he heard her voice say, a hint to dejection evident. "How bad is the traffic?"  
"Uh… not too bad, if I make shortcuts around Kadic, but it'll take a little longer because there's a little issue on the road" Jeremie said, quickly making up a lie.  
"Do you have any items that need to be refrigerated?"  
"Yeah, but it's just fruit and vegetables. I'll drop them off on the way to Ulrich's location."  
"Okay, bye then" 'Aelita' said, the strange marks in her eye pulsing for a few moments before stopping.

"Bye…" Jeremie said as he hung up.

--

"The Government has issued a report concerning a person as a danger and a threat to France." The newscaster said as he shuffled the papers, looking at the cameras and the digital screen that contained the words he was going to say for the reports.

Waldo made a noise that sounded like 'bah' and moved to turn off the TV with the remote on the bed nearby when he heard and saw something that caught his eye. It was a picture of his beloved, and his long-thought to be dead wife.

"Antea Schaeffer, wife of the missing Waldo Schaeffer, escaped her holding cell and committed arson by burning a federal building down to the ground" the newscaster said.

"Good for you, 'tea… Dish out your revenge…" Waldo said as he sat on the bed, Jeremie equally looking surprised as he peered at the TV nearby the aged scientist.

"Antea, who was a participant in a special governmental project, was arrested and sentenced in 1992 for plotting treason against the country by turning the project against the nation. Today, at approximately 11:24 in the morning, she had injured an agent, burned the room and caused an explosion using fire and taking advantage of the location of extremely flammable objects. No casualties were made in the explosion. The Firemen that responded to the fire were unable to contain the fire. The agents are suffering from burns ranging from minor to severe, and from sharp objects and debris from the explosion. Another agent, however, suffers from memory problems and a mild concussion due to an object being thrown at him by the escaped female. This female is armed with a home-made flamethrower and is extremely dangerous. She is approximately 175 lbs., and about 5 feet, 10 inches. She was last seen escaping from the office space where she first made a fire through an air vent. In other news, there have been mysterious cases of a man with gray hair rowing in a boat that doesn't exist. … and in midair, as well as a rabbit coated in ketchup. More on that la-" the man said, Waldo interrupting him by turning off the television.

"Bah, Antea, why did you have to go and blow them up?" Waldo muttered to himself.

"Wow… your wife… I mean my mother-in-law did all that?" Jeremie asked, astounded.  
"Phshaa… she wasn't violent until now. Ah, might as well start from the beginning…" Waldo said, giving off a long sigh.

"Wha… what do you mean?" Jeremie asked.

"How did one project spiral into this madness? Ah… no time like the present. Anyway, here's the proof XANA's still alive." Waldo said, tossing a folder that was lying next to him over to Jeremie.

"What …?" Jeremie said as his eyes rapidly scanned the file data that made up XANA. "Objectives: Protect Lyoko's occupants against dangers from the real world… backup file location copy to multiple locations… code change procedure… What did you do?" Jeremie asked desperately.  
"I thought XANA was a good guardian of Lyoko. I was wrong though, and I must pay for my mistake…" Waldo sighed as Jeremie looked through the print outs of the binary code that made up XANA, as well as files from Project Carthage.  
"We're not in a battle with XANA anymore…" Jeremie said, slowly putting the file down as Waldo looked on with interest. "We're in a war with him… to protect humanity. But we'll do it… to make a world… a world without danger!"  
"That's my son-in-law!" Waldo shouted approvingly.

--

'tea, in this story series, is pronounced "Tay-uh", "Thee-uh", or "Tea-uh", depending on you preference, if you're concerned on the pronunciation concept. The French Wikipedia states Aelita was born in 1982, which is a likely possibility, since she disappeared around the 1990's. Aelita was about 10-11 when Antea was captured, based on her looks and height from the flashbacks. Aelita would have to be born in the 1980's because she would have to disappear before she was a teen in the 1990's, and then reawakened 10 years later, spending another year in Lyoko before being released into the world, where she would continue fighting XANA until she was 13-14... or until 2006-2007 (based on the year the last episode aired in France), if you want to be more specific.


	4. Chapter IV

AN: ('tea) can also be pronounced as "Tae-uh". "Tay-uh" can be pronounced as the same thing or as "Tie-uh". I don't know why you want to pronounce it as 'Tie-uh', though. Nevertheless, it is an option. TheSovietWarMachine, your question will be answered here, because I forgot to reply back, I think.

-Page Break-

ASOUA Chapter IV

"You were lying, weren't you?" 'Aelita' questioned, arms crossed in front of her chest.  
"No!" Jeremie stated in defense, holding his hands up high.

"Ulrich said his car was just fine. I called to check up on him after you finished your call here."

"Wha… wha… wait. Whoa, whoa, whoa. You're telling me that you don't trust me anymore?" Jeremie stated, hoping to avert the situation.

"Not since you made a conflicting error in your statement. Earlier in the call you said you ran into him, and then later you said that you were going to get him in order to drive up to Northern France." 'Aelita' stated bluntly, staring at him with a blank expression on her face, a feat most XANA-fied people could easily achieve.

Jeremie mentally hit himself on the head. He had forgotten that he had made a serious error in his statement during the call in the grocery store. It might have been his father-in-law's fault. He did not like it when somebody was basically breathing down your neck and policing on what you said in order not to make big mistakes in the conversation, as it made him nervous. Jeremie noticed he was cornered on all sides due to the error- unless he thought of another statement that would help him get out of the predicament.

"Er… Aelita! Have you heard the news lately?" Jeremie asked, hoping to at least divert her mind.

"Stop changing the subject. I just want the truth."  
"Well, earlier today there was a news piece on your mother. Erm… I believe that she was escaping from the Federal Building and burning it to the ground. I was going to drive nearby to find out what was going on in a more in depth detail, and try to find her, but I did not want you to know, because I didn't want to disappoint you if I couldn't find her."

'Aelita' thought this over. If he really was going to the scene of the "crime", then he would at least smell like smoke, or a faint trace of it. She analyzed his posture with the help of XANA and took it into her calculations that were going on inside her head. His body index showed that he was relaxed and calm instead of panicky, lessening the chances of him telling a lie. Her calculations and observations turned up that he did have some molecules of an ash-like substance on his shirt, thus seemingly confirming that he had gone to look for her. She sighed, relenting and letting Jeremie explain further.

"The news piece may be correct in their statement on how my mother escaped" 'Aelita' said softly.  
"Well, it looks like my in-law is now an outlaw. "Jeremie joked. "Don't worry; I think she knows her way around the area…"

'Aelita' nodded, and left to continue peeling the potatoes for the dish. Jeremie turned and wrote on some papers on his desk, pretending to be working on the next assignment instead of thinking about the situation. It was strange that she was level at most of the time, but Jeremie knew that XANA did not fully know who her mother was, and thus not be able to show much, if not any emotion to her. Jeremie mentally groaned as the scent of burnt potatoes wafted through the room and hit him. XANA obviously was no hand at cooking for sure.

-Antea-

Antea stalked through the woods, wincing every time a branch or a hard object made contact with her bare feet. Why didn't she bring them along with her before she torched the place to the ground? The forest wasn't a picnic, especially if there is a large amount of debris on the ground, and one is walking through the woods without any footwear to protect the feet from any damage that the contacting of the rocks would make. Surely the police was looking for her everywhere in the area to find her and put her away for good. There was no use running, she knew that they would eventually find her. After all, what gave her away was her long, pink hair. Surely they would be able to spot her from a long distance away. It was no use to go hide in the city, she just needed to lie low here.

Antea soon found a small, dry and uninhabited cave that was hidden away into a hill. She then used the letter opener to help break some branches of pine to cover her new hiding place. As she was working, her stomach growled incessantly. Antea groaned, smacking herself on the forehead for not having the sense to snatch the sandwich as well. She settled down in the cave and waited by the entrance, surely there was a lot of wild animals here. Deer would probably not taste that bad, compared to the stuff the Men in Black had been feeding her for the past two decades. Besides, they might even taste like chicken…

However; she saw something flit by her eyesight, catching her attention and drawing her away from her temporary hunger needs. Walking over just a little and wincing as her feet touched the sharp rocks, she spotted that a road was nearby. Turning her gaze over to the right, she could see a red car drive by for a little while, and then stop as it reached outer edge of the beach. Antea smiled, and began to creep over to the car before it or its driver would get away. This was probably her only chance to escape before she was caught. This might be her only chance she would have…

-XANA-

Sparks of electricity that seemed to have came out of nowhere crackled on the metal covering that hid an abandoned machine. The sparks crackled faster and more furiously, the electricity making its way through the metal covering, and forcing it open, the machine rising out once more into view. More electricity went onto the machine, and found the metal covering of the switch and managed to open the covering. It then manipulated the now-revealed switch upwards, the machine's parts turning on and the parts whirring away once more, albeit a little slower due to age and lack of maintenance. The electricity then subsided, and darkly colored essence of something wove its way through the systems of the supercomputer, going into the processing parts as the machine fully turned on.

… **Connecting…  
…Signing on to Database…**

…**Approving User ID…**

…**Accessing Database…**

…**User connected!**

**Welcome to Carthage!**

There was a definite air of victory as it signed on to the database. It was a simple matter of remotely activating the supercomputer turn-on program and re-activate the supercomputer again for its mission. The firewalls that the genius had made to keep out intruders from accessing the information for Lyoko, as well as the data for the programs he had made were no longer as effective as it had been years ago- technology had greatly improved since then. Although the computers nowadays were faster and with a thought from the mind could easily direct the computers, the Supercomputer in the abandoned Factory still topped them all with its large expanse of memory, and the capability to hold all the monsters he had made, along with the Lyoko sectors.

XANA 'smirked' as its essence wove its way into the system, quickly finding what it was looking for in the database where the information in the supercomputer was kept. It searched through hundreds of megabytes of information, scouring the database for what it was looking for. XANA could practically shout in triumph- if it had not been for the restrictions for his digital self- as it found what it was looking for, and quickly copied the information stored on the digital cards. Sending the information to a lonely outpost on the internet where he retrieved it, XANA stored the now stolen information on his system, and slowly receded back into the depths of the internet, savoring his moment of victory.

Although he had not done much research on humans, he knew all about the limits of science at the moment. Science, though it had helped them, would now be used to hinder them. There would be chaos, possibly the humans would initiate the useless gesture they called war, but nevertheless, he would make sure that he would win in the end- or at least cause massive casualties to the humans that would force them to surrender to him. XANA would have smirked, had it not been for the fact that he was speeding through the internet at extremely fast speeds. IT went back into the deep recesses of the internet, to another site where he had been planning n visiting for so long.

He could feel his power growing as he connected to multiple power soures. No longer was he in his weakest stage- he was now accumulating power at a steady, but increasing clip. Soon, he would be able to expand and not only be linked to one supercomputer, but to be in multiple supercomputer, so destroying him would be practically impossible, after dividing his being into parts, that is. Soon, he would not only be as powerful as he was shortly before his 'demise', but he would be stronger, and this time, he would plan more carefully, as as to not be defeated so quickly again.

-Jeremie-

"Hey, Ulrich." Jeremie tiredly spoke into the phone, answering a call from his old friend.  
"Hey Jeremie, what's up? I barely see you guys now that you're getting good at your workplace." Ulrich said into the phone, nonchalantly leaning against the iron bars of the balcony at his home and viewing the streets of Paris in a leisure manner. "It's like you guys are full workaholics. Does this sound all too familiar to you, Jeremie?"  
"Nah, you can blame Antea and Waldo for that. They're keeping my up all night" Jeremie said tiredly.

"Jeremie, Jeremie, Jeremie. I'll never understand why you decided to have two children instead of one. Believe me, one is enough, but having two is practically screaming for pain. I'll never know how you manage it."  
"We don't really manage it" Jeremie said, chortling into the phone "but they are behaved when cookies are on the line."  
"Same with mine" Ulrich said, nodding absentmindedly. "Hey, that reminds me. Why did you name them after Aelita's parent's anyway? I mean, I know you named your dogs after your brother and all, but why name the kids after them?"  
"Well… they looked a lot like them… well to her, I mean." Jeremie said, looking down at Waldo tugging the hem of his shirt for attention. "Shh…. Waldo, I'll be there in a second" he whispered to Waldo, who pouted at his answer and stormed away to go and bother Antea again. "Ulrich, I… I… I just thought it would be good, you know. I thought it would make her happy and let her recall the happier moments in her past. I guess…"  
"It's because you loved her, didn't you? You loved her so much, right?"  
"It's more than love, Ulrich. I just can't find the words to describe it." Said Jeremie, wincing at a crashing sound not too far from his ears. "Maybe because I loved her so much, I decided to honor her past by naming them after them, you know, so that she can have part of her past with her in the present."

"Smart move, Jer." Ulrich commented, grinning. "Yumi wanted the male to be named Akihito, because it means distinct, or something like that".  
"I gotta go" Jeremie said, hearing another crash nearby him. "The kids are making a mess again"

"See ya" said Ulrich, as they both hung up the phone.

Jeremie put the phone down on the receiver, surveying the mess that lay before him. Near two broken flowerpots stood Waldo, looking guiltily at the flowerpots. He sighed, knowing it was the fifth flowerpot this month, and at this rate, he would run the gardening store out of planting pots before someone could say 'oops'. Waldo didn't do this on purpose- it was the result of having two children play-fight with each other. Waldo usually was chasing after Antea for some reason, maybe it was boredom, maybe it was the whole totem-pole of rank that was evident in almost every family he had known. Waldo twiddled his thumbs, and began to speak before Jeremie shrugged off the incident and began to go and fetch the dustpan and brush. After all, their antics were pretty much as common as the traffic outside in the streets.

-Waldo-

Waldo cruised around the area in France around the countryside in a convertible that served as the rental car he had borrowed. It wasn't easy to convince the salesperson to accept his identity. He had to use his original name so that he wouldn't be dogged by the government officials should they come across his name in the government records, as they only knew him by his false name, Franz Hopper. From now on, he was known to the world as Waldo Schaeffer, but Waldo was still nervous because an informant could tell him off, and there was the fact that his appearance had not changed in decades. It was a nice day, but Waldo wasn't paying attention to the weather. He was too wrapped up in his thoughts, and his head was filled with programs and worries of how XANA might advance next. Waldo had only escaped to the country to relieve some of his thoughts that he might be spotted and identified by governmental officials in the city.

Waldo gently eased the car into facing the ocean, and watched as the ocean ebbed and flowed before his eyes. He sighed, knowing what his daughter's fate would be resigned to should they fail in getting her back. It was almost like the William Dunbar incident again- it was very troubling to free one person from XANA, and it pained him to remember his daughter's depressed expression on seeing him sacrifice himself for a person he never met before, all for the sake of protecting the world from the thing he had made all that time ago. Now, it was his turn to prove himself to his daughter, of feats most would deem insane. He would willingly sacrifice himself again, if it would mean that the world would be safe again from the monster called XANA.

Waldo closed his eyes and tried to relax and collect his thoughts as he listened to the sea breeze and as the sea air breezed past him through the opened convertible top. Normally, he would have been preoccupied with his thoughts, but today, he was just too exhausted from the lack of sleep to properly think of calculations and proper equations and formulas anymore. He had just begun to think more clearly when he felt something sharp rest across his throat, lightly grazing him, but the object not exactly biting into his skin. He would have opened his eyes and shouted in surprise had the person who had suddenly gone behind him put his or her hand on his mouth to keep him from shouting and covered his hands with the other, which gripped the sharp object in an odd manner, so as to provide both a threat, and to keep him from alerting others. He heard the person speak in a feminine tone, and although it sounded like a person that was older, he felt that the person speaking sounded familiar.

"Don't try anything here. I just need a ride to go somewhere, got that?" a female voice said, lightly pressing the object against his throat to make it clear.

"Yes… I… I'll give you a ride, just… just please… don't kill me. …" said Waldo, his voice muffled. "M…may I ask something?" Waldo pressed, continuing when he only received a grunt from the person. "Who are you anyway? You sound like… like…" Waldo said in a muffled tone, his voice trailing off. "…Honey? Is that you?"  
"What are you talking about? I just need a ride. I'm not going to tell you my name- I'm not a fool." His captor bitterly said. "I would not willingly talk to you unless you're… unless you're…" her voice trailed off as she noticed the familiar ruffled gray hair she had not seen for years. "…W…Waldy?" the voice said as his eyes were uncovered, voice quaking as she asked him. "Waldy!" She nearly yelled, recognizing him. "…You practically haven't changed a bit" the voice said as the sharp object was withdrawn from his throat.

"Oh, Antea!" Waldo shouted with joy as he spotted his long lost wife behind him, pulling her into a hug. "I thought you were killed when they took you away!"

"No honey, just locked up and interrogated…Say, do you have any black hair dye I can use? The feds are still looking for me…"

-Time Lapse, 1 hour-

"… and in other news, the Federal Government is still on the lookout for both Waldo and Antea Schaeffer… hold on a minute…" The newscaster spoke through the radio as the pair drove along with the convertible top up. "… We have just received the news from the Government that the names are mistaken. The Federal Government is not looking for Waldo and Antea Schaeffer currently, they are looking for Franz and Antea Hopper, excuse us for the misinformation on the names of the suspects."

"What in Lyoko's name...?" Waldo muttered as he turned the radio up.  
"We have just received the news that the reward for their capture, alive, and not dead, is worth 736,875.37 Euros for each of them, or about $900,000 in the US currency, for all you travelers and bounty hunters out there." the newscaster continued, his voice immediately stopping as Waldo turned off the radio.

"Well that's nice of them" Waldo sarcastically commented. "So… we're both fugitives in a way, huh? I doubt they'll be coming after me, but they'll recognize me right away. We can't go to our daughter's house- XANA's there. We'll have to hide out where it is safer." He stated, turning the car towards the mountains.

"So, it finally begins, doesn't it?" Antea questioned, eyes looking warily about for any sign of the law enforcement officers.

"Unfortunately yes- I was afraid this would happen should XANA become self-aware. That's why I had you fetch those things that puzzled you all those years ago. Don't worry, I still got a bottle of hair dye left. It might be years old, but it still works, I suppose." Waldo said with a sigh. "It's the beginning- it's the beginning of something that foretells disaster and destruction. XANA's coming, and fast."  
"And thus the war of the world begins…" Antea affirmed.

-Page Break-  
Thus, answering your question from long ago, TheSovietWarMachine that I had forgotten to message you back. Actually, TX was made way back in September, so I wasn't very original or thinking hard enough. Actually, TX was supposed to be sort of like an experimental item, a story written just for fun. However, the series was made after people encouraged its growth last year. Currency translation was this amount at the moment where I first wrote this, so don't use it as a strict reference after about… 1 or 2 weeks after this chapter is published. I guess I should end this story here, and begin the other stories, in order to divide the books more evenly. Story information on profile will be updated later.


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